RSS
Home
Shingles pain relief the promise of new prescription patch
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Nov. 17 approved a first-of-its-kind medical treatment for the pain caused by shingles disease.
The Qutenza patch from NeurogesX delivers a large dose of synthetic capsaicin directly to areas of the skin affected by shingles' trademark rash. People with shingles can experience intense pain because the rash arises when nerve ending directly under the skin become infected and inflamed. This pain can linger for long periods.
Capsaicin is the chemical that makes hot peppers hot. It has long been used in creams and gels to relieve muscle aches and joint swelling. In high concentrations, capsaicin also serves as the base for pepper sprays such as Mace. Because Qutenza patches can hurt untrained users, only health care professionals wearing special gloves and having access to skin cleansers specifically formulated to remove capsaicin should apply and remove Qutenza patches.
Patients experiencing shingles pain can have four Qutenza patches applied at one time and can wear the patches for up to a full hour. Patients should not have patches applied more frequently than every three months or to broken or bleeding skin.
NeurogesX reported in a press release that patients who received Qutenza treatments had noticeably less pain for up to 12 weeks. A small number of patients experienced significant increases in blood pressure after having patches applied. The most frequent side effects from Qutenza were redness, pain and rash.
Most adults who suffered chickenpox when they were children can expect to suffer at least one bout of shingles. The herpesvirus that causes chickenpox never completely leaves the body, and it often reemerges when people become severely stressed or have their immune system weakened by another disease or normal aging.
Adults at risk for shingles can lower their chances of developing the condition by getting vaccinated against herpes zoster. No specific shingles remedies exist, but some patients can benefit from taking antiviral drugs and painkillers such as OxyContin or antidepressants that reduce nerve pain such as amitriptyline. To learn more about the shingles vaccine, click here.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
